Aggregate train and methods of loading and unloading

ABSTRACT

A system to transport and unload bulk materials includes at least one rail car and a moving wall system. The moving wall system has a first end, a second end, and a trough. The trough is configured to contain a payload of the at least one rail car. The trough includes sidewalls that contact the payload when loaded and move with the payload to move the payload towards the second end. The trough may be formed of at least one conveyor belt that forms a hopper of the at least one rail car. The trough may span a plurality of rail cars. The system may include a take-up system connecting the sidewalls. Each of the rail cars may include a frame and a plurality of pulleys connected to the frame may support the trough.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.§119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/348,086, filed Jun. 9, 2016,entitled “AGGREGATE TRAIN AND METHOD OF LOADING AND UNLOADING,” thedisclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiments described herein relate to systems and methods ofdelivering a material called rip rap more efficiently in the rail roadindustry. It is appreciated that the embodiments may be used withvarious types of commodities and aggregates, such as ranging from sandto rip rap.

BACKGROUND Description of the Related Art

Rip rap is an aggregate material made up of large boulders that aregenerally sharp and jagged, which range in diameter between one to sixfeet. Rip rap is used in the rail road industry to fill in washouts,along bridge embankments, and waterways for erosion control, etc. Knowndelivery methods include trucking in the rip rap material to the desiredsite or using side dump cars to deliver the rip rap material. Both ofthese methods are time consuming and require extensive handling. Themore common method in the rail industry for rip rap delivery would bethe use of side dump cars. When a side dump car dumps the rip rap, theygenerally dump only one or two cars at a time. A front end loader orexcavator will then have to move the rip rap into the desired location.The side dump cars are repeatedly moved back and forth from the mainline track to a siding in order to offload all of the material.

Known trains such as a Georgetown Rail Equipment Company Dump Train andtrains described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/199,080, filedMar. 6, 2014 and entitled “Self-Unloading Aggregate Train”, thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, andPlasser MFS cars convey material to the front of the train. The PlasserMFS cars may be able to handle very small-sized rip rap but are unableto handle the rip rap on a larger scale. Further, Plasser MFS cars arevery costly and impractical when many car loads of material arerequired. Further, while the Georgetown Rail Equipment Company DumpTrain is more cost effective for multiple car loads, it may not bedesigned to handle large or even small sized rip rap.

Track spoils are unwanted material that is removed from within or belowthe ballast, which supports the track. Many known high-production trackmaintenance machines have a short conveyor boom for offloading trackspoils, such as track under-cutters, shoulder cleaners, and ditchcleaners. However, these short booms can only off load material to theside of the track or into the rear of a rail car positioned ahead of theboom. It is often impractical to put the track spoils off to the side ofthe track because it clogs the ditch or there is double or triple tracksand the boom cannot be swung over the adjacent track. Further, unloadingtrack spoils into the rear of a rail car positioned ahead of the machineis impractical because only half the car can be filled by the short boomand then the car must be dumped or swapped with an empty car. This cantake up a lot of valuable track time.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a system and method of loading andunloading materials, such as rip rap, that overcomes and/or mitigatessome of the problems and disadvantages discussed above.

The embodiments of an aggregate train described herein increase theefficiency and effectiveness of delivering materials, such as rip rap,in the rail industry and may decrease the track time used for unloadingand thereby put a rail line back into service more quickly than knownsystems and methods. The embodiments may also be configured to receivelarge quantities of track spoils at the rear of the train so they can behauled to and unloaded at another location.

An embodiment of a system to transport and unload bulk materialsincludes at least one rail car and a moving wall system. The moving wallsystem has a first end, a second end, and a trough. The trough isconfigured to contain a payload of the at least one rail car. The troughincludes sidewalls that contact the payload when loaded and move withthe payload to move the payload towards the second end.

The at least one rail car may be a plurality of rail cars and the troughmay span the plurality of rail cars. The trough may include a movingfloor. Each of the at least one rail car may include a frame and themoving wall system may include a plurality of pulleys connected to theframe with the trough supported upon the plurality of pulleys. At leastone of the plurality of pulleys may be a driven pulley. The system mayinclude a drive mechanism configured to impart friction to an undersideof the trough to move the trough. The sidewalls may include a firstsidewall and a second sidewall. The system may include a take-up systemconnecting the first sidewall and the second sidewall. The take-upsystem is configured to transfer tension between the first sidewall tothe second sidewall. The at least one rail car may not include a hopperseparate from the trough.

The trough may be at least one conveyor belt. The at least one conveyorbelt may be positionable between a carry configuration and a returnconfiguration. The carry configuration may form the trough when the atleast one conveyor belt is advancing towards the second end. Thesidewalls may include a pair of sidewall conveyor belts and the movingfloor may be a floor conveyor belt. The at least one conveyor belt mayinclude the pair of sidewall conveyor belts and the floor conveyor belt.The pair of sidewall conveyor belts and the floor conveyor belt arerotatable to move the payload.

An embodiment of a system to transport and unload bulk materialsincludes a conveyor belt system and at least one rail car. The conveyorbelt system has at least one conveyor belt, a first end, and a secondend. The conveyer belt system forms a hopper of the at least one railcar. The conveyor belt system is configured to contain a payload andmove the payload toward the second end by rotating the at least oneconveyor belt. The at least one conveyor belt forms sidewalls and afloor that move with the payload when rotated. The at least one rail caris configured to support the conveyor belt system.

The at least one conveyor belt may be positionable between a carryconfiguration and a return configuration. The carry configuration mayform a trough when the at least one conveyor belt is advancing towardsthe second end. The at least one rail car may be a plurality of railcars and the conveyor belt system may span the plurality of rail cars.The sidewalls may include a pair of sidewall conveyor belts and thefloor may include a floor conveyor belt. The at least one conveyor beltmay be a plurality of conveyor belts including the pair of sidewallconveyor belts and the floor conveyor belt. Each of the at least onerail car may include a frame and the moving wall system may include aplurality of pulleys connected to the frame with the at least oneconveyor belt being supported upon the plurality of pulleys. At leastone of the plurality of pulleys may be a driven pulley. The system mayinclude a drive mechanism configured to impart friction to an undersideof the at least one conveyor belt to rotate the at least one conveyorbelt. The sidewalls may include a first sidewall and a second sidewall.Each of the at least one rail car may include a frame having a firsttrack with a first set of rollers and a second track with a second setof rollers. The first set of rollers ride within the first track and thesecond set of rollers ride within the second track. The first set ofrollers may be connected to an upper portion of the first sidewall andthe second set of rollers may be connected to an upper portion of thesecond sidewall.

The system may include a take-up system connecting the first sidewalland the second sidewall. The take-up system is configured to transfertension between the first sidewall to the second sidewall. Each of theat least one rail car may include a frame having a first track with afirst trolley and a second track with a second trolley. The firsttrolley may be connected to the first sidewall and the second trolleymay be connected to the second sidewall. The take-up system may includea third track with a third trolley. The third trolley may apply andmaintain tension to a floor conveyor. The tension applied to the thirdtrolley may be independent of the tension applied to the first andsecond trolleys. In some embodiments, the tension within the first andsecond trolleys that is applied to the first and second sidewalls may beproportional to the tension applied to the floor conveyor through thethird trolley. The take-up system may have one or multiple cables thatare routed around to each of the trolleys at a differing number ofconnection points for each trolley to determine the proportional ratioof tension applied to each trolley.

An embodiment of a method of loading or unloading material from a trainincludes depositing material onto a conveyor belt system and rotatingthe at least one conveyor belt. The conveyor belt system spans at leastone rail car of a train. The conveyor belt system has at least oneconveyor belt, a first end, and a second end. The at least one conveyorbelt forms sidewalls and a floor. Rotating the at least one conveyorbelt moves the material toward the second end.

The method may include positioning the at least one conveyor belt in acarry configuration forming a trough shape at or near the first end ofthe conveyor belt system. The material is deposited into the troughshape. The method may include positioning the at least one conveyor beltin a return configuration at or near the second end of the conveyor beltsystem. The return configuration may not form the trough shape. Themethod may include containing the material within the at least oneconveyor belt while the train is in transport. The method may includeunloading the material after moving the material toward the second end.The material may include at least rip rap. The method may includedepositing the material onto the at least one conveyor belt at a firstsection of the conveyor belt system, rotating the at least one conveyorbelt to move at least a portion of the material to a second section ofthe conveyor belt system, and depositing an additional material into thefirst section of the train. The additional material may be track spoils.

The at least one rail car may be a plurality of rail cars and theconveyor belt system may span the plurality of rail cars. Each of the atleast one rail car may include a frame and the conveyor belt system mayinclude a plurality of pulleys connected to the frame with the at leastone conveyor belt being supported upon the plurality of pulleys. Themethod may include driving at least one of the plurality of pulleys torotate the at least one conveyor belt. The method may include impartingfriction to an underside of the at least one conveyor belt and rotatingthe at least one conveyor belt via the friction. The at least oneconveyor belt may be a plurality of conveyor belts. The sidewalls mayinclude a pair of sidewall conveyor belts and the floor may be a floorconveyor belt. The plurality of conveyor belts may include the pair ofsidewall conveyor belts and the floor conveyor belt. The sidewalls mayinclude a first sidewall and a second sidewall. The system may include atake-up system connecting the first sidewall and the second sidewall.The take-up system may be configured to transfer tension between thefirst sidewall to the second sidewall.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a rail car with amoving wall system.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a conveyor beltsystem with an end portion removed.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a rail car witha conveyor belt system.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a conveyor belt system having a movingfloor and moving sidewalls.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a track system for moving sidewalls.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of an aggregate train with a payload conveyorbelt system.

FIGS. 7-9 show an embodiment of a take-up system.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However,it should be understood that the disclosure is not intended to belimited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the intention is tocover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within thescope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a rail car 100 with a moving wall system.The rail car 100 includes a frame 110 that extends along the length ofthe rail car 100 that supports the moving wall system. The frame 110 issupported upon bogies 105 to travel along railroad tracks. As shown inFIG. 1, the frame 110 of the rail car 100 may be supported upon a pairof bogies 105. In other embodiments, adjacent cars may share a bogie105, as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art havingthe benefit of this disclosure.

The moving wall system includes a moving floor and moving sidewalls thatform a receptacle for material to be deposited into. The bottom andsides of the moving wall system, which hold and contact material loadedin the rail car 100, move with the material as it is conveyed toward anunloading end 122 of the rail car 100. Unlike rail cars with knownconveyor systems, which have a bottom conveyor belt to move material andthe material slides along the stationary walls of the hopper, the railcar's 100 moving wall system substantially reduces, and in someembodiments eliminates, sliding friction because the sidewalls of themoving wall system can move with the material. The reduction of slidingfriction may increase the payload capacity of the rail car 100 and alsodecrease the power requirements necessary to move the payload along thelength of the rail car 100. The unloading end 122 of the rail car 100may be located at either end of the rail car 100 depending on thedirection of motion of the moving wall system as would be appreciated byone of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the moving wall system may be a conveyor belt system120. The conveyor belt system 120 extends from a first end 121 to asecond end 122. Material may be loaded into the rail car 100 at thefirst end 121 of the conveyor belt system 120 and conveyed to the secondend 122 of the conveyor belt system 120. The conveyor belt system 120includes at least one conveyor belt that forms a receptacle for thematerial. In other words, the conveyor belt system 120 acts as thehopper for the material that opens to the top of the rail car 100 as therail car 100 is being transported to a location and the rail car 100 maynot include a separate hopper. The payload capacity of the rail car 100may be increased as there is no space needed to drop material from ahopper onto the conveyor belt system 120. The at least one conveyor beltforms a moving band or endless loop of fabric, rubber, metal, othermaterials, or combinations thereof that may be used to move objects orbulk materials from one place to another.

The at least one conveyor belt may be made of a highly impact andabrasive resistant material. At the first end 121 of the conveyor beltsystem 120, the at least one belt is positioned into a carryconfiguration, such as a trough shape, to contain the rail car's 100entire payload. At the second end 122 of the conveyor belt system, theat least one belt is positioned into a return configuration so that itmay advance back towards the first end. The conveyor belt system 120 maycomprise a floor conveyor belt 130 and a pair of sidewall conveyor belts140. It is appreciated, however, that other embodiments of conveyorbelts may be used such as a pair of overlapping conveyor belts,interlocking conveyor belts, or a single curved conveyor belt. Likewise,more than three conveyor belts may be used to create the carryconfiguration to contain the rail car's 100 payload. As the floorconveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 of the conveyorbelt system 120 rotate, the material is moved towards the second end122. The floor conveyor belt 130 may include ridges 131 located inwardfrom the edges of the floor conveyor belt 130 to assist the floorconveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 in maintaining arelative position.

The frame 110 may include arms 112 on each side of the conveyor beltsystem 120 to support the conveyor belt system 120 and the payload thatit carries. The arms 112 may include connectors, such as fastener plates111, to attach the conveyor belt system 120 to the frame 110 of the railcar 100. The arms 112 or another portion of the frame 110 may notcontact the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140of the conveyor belt system 120. In particular, the frame 110 may notcontact the portion of the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewallconveyor belts 140 as they move material from the first end 121 to thesecond end 122. The arms 112 may extend to the top of the rail car 100and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 may extend substantially to the topof the rail car 100 to form a hopper to contain the rail car's 100payload. In some embodiments, material may be loaded onto the floorconveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 through an openingin the top of the rail car 100.

FIG. 2 shows the conveyor belt system 120 with the first end 121 portionremoved. The conveyor belt system 120 includes supports to allow thefloor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 to move thematerial without or with reduced friction between the material and ahopper wall. The supports may be suspended from the frame 110 to furtherreduce sliding friction of the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewallconveyor belts 140. As shown in FIG. 2, the supports may be impactresistant idler pulleys 150 positioned beneath the floor conveyor belt130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140. The idler pulleys 150 arepositioned on the underside of the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 as the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 move toward the second end 122 of theconveyor belt system 120. The idler pulleys 150 may decrease the impactstresses of loading the payload onto the conveyor system and may bespaced to achieve a desired capacity per unit length of the rail car100. The idler pulleys 150 may be supported upon the arms 112 of theframe 110 (shown in FIG. 3). For examples, the idler pulleys 150 may belinked along a chain or cable and connected via fastener plates 111(shown in FIG. 3). When material is loaded onto the floor conveyor belt130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 of the conveyor belt system 120,the idler pulleys 150 resist the impact stress. The idler pulleys 150support the weight of the material and the floor conveyor belt 130 andthe sidewall conveyor belts 140 as the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 move the material toward the second end 122of the conveyor belt system 120. As material is moved toward the secondend 122 of the conveyor belt system 120, the idler pulleys 150 rotateabove their respective axes as the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 slide along the idler pulleys 150. Theconveyor belt system 120 may also include lower idler pulleys 155 thatsupport and guide the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyorbelts 140 as they move from the second end 122 to the first end 121 tocomplete the endless loop. The lower idler pulleys 155 are supportedupon the frame 110. Fewer lower idler pulleys 155 may be used than theidler pulleys 150 because the lower idler pulleys 155 may need onlysupport the empty weight of the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewallconveyor belts 140.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the frame 110 and the conveyorbelt system 120 of the rail car 100. The pair of sidewall conveyor belts140 are positioned on the sides of the floor conveyor belt 130 to form acarry configuration that has a trough shape to receive and carry bulkmaterials. The trough shape may be a “U” shape with the sidewallconveyor belts 140 positioned substantially perpendicular to the floorconveyor belt 130. Other trough shapes are possible as may beappreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure. For example, the trough shape may also be half of ahexagon or an octagon, or part of a semi-circle. As the floor conveyorbelt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 travel in an endless loop,one section of the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyorbelts 140 travels from the first end 121 to the second end 122 (shown inFIG. 1) while being supported by the idler pulleys 150 suspended fromthe arms 112 of the frame 110 via the connection to the fastener plates111. The idler pulleys 150 rotate as the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 travel across the idler pulleys 150. Theridges 131 located inward from the edges of the floor conveyor belt 130assist in maintaining the trough shape between the floor conveyor belt130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 as they traverse the length ofthe rail car 100.

Turning to FIG. 4, once the section of the floor conveyor belt 130 andthe sidewall conveyor belts 140 reaches the second end 122, the sidewallconveyor belts 140 are separated from the floor conveyor belt 130 sothat the material can be removed. Head pulleys at the second end 122 maybe used to separate the sidewall conveyor belts 140 from the floorconveyor belt 130 and transition the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 from the carry configuration to a returnconfiguration. The ends of the sidewall conveyor belts 140 may extendpast the end of the floor conveyor belt 130 to assist in separating thesidewall conveyor belts 140 from the floor conveyor belt 130. In someembodiments, the conveyor belt system 120 may not elevate the materialfrom the first end 121 to the second end 122 (shown in FIG. 1).Referring again to FIG. 3, in the return configuration, the section ofthe floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 isguided upon the lower idler pulleys 155 as it travels towards the firstend 121 (shown in FIG. 1). The portion of the floor conveyor belt 130and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 in the carry configuration may bepositioned above the portion of the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 in the return configuration. By way ofexample, in the return configuration, the conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 may be partially overlapping, form a trough,be flat, or completely overlap.

Once the section of the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewallconveyor belts 140 reaches the first end 121, tail pulleys may be usedto reorient the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts140 back to the carry configuration and the tail pulleys may also applyproper tension to the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyorbelts 140.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment for a track 160 to guide the sidewallconveyor belts 140. It is appreciated that the track 160 may also beused in other embodiments, such as where there is a pair of overlappingconveyor belts or a single curved conveyor belt, as would be appreciatedby one of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure. Thetrack 160 may be connected to or integral to the frame 110 of the railcar 100 (shown in FIG. 1). By way of example, the track 160 may have anI-beam shape. A plurality of rollers 170 ride within the track 160. Therollers 170 are connected to the sidewall conveyor belts 140 and inhibitthe sidewall conveyor belts 140 from sliding down under its weight orthe weight of material upon the sidewall conveyor belts 140. The rollers170 may be spaced to achieve a desired capacity per unit length of therail car 100. The rollers 170 may include an elastic member 165, such asa spring or bungie. The elastic member 165 may inhibit the track 160 androllers 170 from being overloaded when materials are being dropped uponthe floor conveyor belt 130 (shown in FIG. 1) and sidewall conveyorbelts 140. It is appreciated that the track 160 and rollers 170 mayreplace or supplement the ridges 131 on the floor conveyor belt 130(shown in FIG. 3) in maintaining the trough shape between the floorconveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140 as they traversethe length of the rail car 100. In some embodiments, the track 160 maycurve or a second track may be used to guide and support the sidewallconveyor belts 140 as they travel from the second end to the first end.

The rail car 100 may include a drive mechanism, such as driven pulleys,a drive belt, a motor or engine, configured to drive the floor conveyorbelt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140. The head pulleys and tailpulleys for the floor conveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts140 may include gear boxes and motors used to drive the pulleys androtate the respective belt, as would be appreciated by one of ordinaryskill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. In someembodiments, a generator may be positioned on a rail car 100 or on anadjacent car to provide electricity to the head pulleys and idlers. Insome embodiments, the drive mechanism may impart friction, such as byrotating the drive mechanism, to the underside of the floor conveyorbelt 130 and/or the undersides of the sidewall conveyor belts 140 andcause the floor conveyor belt 130 and/or the sidewall conveyor belts 140to rotate. Multiple drive mechanisms may be distributed along the lengthof the conveyor belt system 120. In some embodiments, only the floorconveyor belt 130 is driven. The sidewall conveyor belts 140 may bedriven by friction with the material placed against the sidewallconveyor belts 140. In other words, material may be placed on the floorconveyor belt 130 and the sidewall conveyor belts 140, the floorconveyor belt 130 is driven and caused to rotate, and as the floorconveyor belt 130 rotates, it carries some of the material with it andthe weight of the material causes the sidewall conveyor belts 140 tomove with the material. Therefore, although only the floor conveyor belt130 is being driven, all three the floor conveyor belt 130 and thesidewall conveyor belts 140 are rotating and moving with material.

In some embodiments, one or more of the idler pulleys 150 that supportthe conveyor belt system 120 may be driven and cause the floor conveyorbelt 130 and sidewall conveyor belts 140 to rotate. For instance,referring to FIG. 2, the floor conveyor belt 130 and sidewall conveyorbelts 140 may initially be stationary. The idler pulleys 150 are causedto rotate and the friction between the idler pulleys 150 and the floorconveyor belt 130 and sidewall conveyor belts 140 will cause the floorconveyor belt 130 and sidewall conveyor belts 140 to advance toward thesecond end 122. In some embodiments, driven idler pulleys 150 that aresuspended from the frame (shown in FIG. 3) may begin to rotate but beinsufficient to begin moving the loaded material. The rotationalfriction between the driven idler pulleys 150 and the floor conveyorbelt 130 and sidewall conveyor belts 140 may cause the idler pulleys 150to move along the length of the conveyor belt system 120 toward thesecond end 122 and pivot about the fastener plates 111 (shown in FIG.1). As the driven idler pulleys 150 are moved, a state ofnon-equilibrium is created that opposes gravitational forces. At acertain point, depending on the weight of the load, the gravitationalforces will cause the driven idler pulleys 150 to swing about thefastener plates 111 and the floor conveyor belt 130 and sidewallconveyor belts 140 will begin to rotate as the system returns toward theequilibrium state. This may also create a smooth start of movement forthe material. Further rotation of the idler pulleys 150 may thencontinue to the rotation of the floor conveyor belt 130 and sidewallconveyor belts 140. It is appreciated that different drive mechanismsmay be used and/or combined. For example, driven idler pulleys 150 maybe used to initiate smooth movement of the material on the conveyor beltsystem 120 and a driven head pulley may then be used to maintain themovement.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of an aggregate train 200 having a payloadconveyor belt system 220. The train 200 may be compliant with at leastone of the Association of American Railroads (“AAR”) plate F clearanceenvelope or the AAR plate C clearance envelop. The payload conveyor beltsystem 220 may have the capacity to receive and contain the entire train200's payload capacity. The train 200's payload capacity may include,among other things, rip rap ranging from small to large sizes. The fullcapacity of payload may be contained within the payload conveyor beltsystem 220 while the belts of the payload conveyor belt system 220 arestationary. For example, the payload conveyor belt system 220 containsthe payload after it has been loaded and the train 200 is in transport.The full capacity of payload may also be contained while activelyconveying the payload towards an unloading section 250 of the train 200.

The train 200 may include a loading section 230, a middle section 205,and an unloading section 250. The middle section 205 of the train isconfigured to carry the payload on the conveyor belt system 220. Themiddle section 205 includes at least one rail car 210. The middlesection 205 may include multiple rail cars 210 that form a frame tosupport the conveyor belt system 220. The payload conveyor belt system220 may be the conveyor belt system 120 described above with respect toFIGS. 1-5. The payload conveyor belt system 220 includes an endless loopconveyor belt that spans one or more rail cars 210. The conveyor beltmay be a plurality of conveyor belts. The plurality of conveyor beltsmay be three conveyor belts. The conveyor belts may be made of a highlyimpact and abrasive resistant material.

The payload conveyor belt system 220 may be rotated to move materialtowards the unloading section 250 of the train. The length and crosssection of the payload conveyor belt system 220 within the middlesection 205 determines the capacity of the train 200. The cross sectionof the payload conveyor belt system 220 and the weight capacity of themiddle section 205 is limited by railroad standard; thus, the capacitymay be increased by building a larger middle section 205 with more railcars 210.

The unloading section 250 of the train 200 is configured to unload thepayload from the train 200. Within the unloading section 250, thepayload is removed from the middle section 205, elevated, and placedonto a radial stacker arm conveyor belt 255 for unloading. The stackerarm conveyor belt 255 may be configured so that the radial stacker armcan rotate approximately 180 degrees so the payload can be unloaded toeither side or in front of the train 200. In some embodiments, theunloading section 250 is a single car. In some embodiments, theunloading section 250 is a plurality of cars. The unloading section 250may also include head pulleys configured to transition the payload carrybelts of the payload conveyor belt system 220 from a troughed carryconfiguration to a return configuration. In other embodiments, the headpulleys may be positioned on the rail cars 210 of the middle section205.

The loading section 230 of the train 200 is configured to depositmaterials onto the payload conveyor belt system 220. The loading section230 may include an additional spoils receiving hopper and conveyor belt235. The conveyor belt 235 has a first end 236 and a second end 237. Theconveyor belt 235 receives payload material and moves the material tothe first end 221 of the payload carry belts of the conveyor belt system220. In some embodiments, the loading section 230 is a single car. Insome embodiments, the loading section 230 is a plurality of cars. Theloading section 230 of the train 200 may contain tail pulleys configuredto transition the payload carry belts of the payload conveyor beltsystem 220 from their return configuration to their troughed carryconfiguration. In other embodiments, the trail pulleys may be positionedon the rail cars 210 of the middle section 205.

The train 200 may include four main conveyor belt systems. The conveyorsystems include a rear conveyor belt system 235 in the loading section230, a payload conveyor belt system 220 in the middle section 205, anelevating conveyor belt system 245, and a stacker conveyor belt system255 in the unloading section 250. The rear conveyor belt system 235receives track spoils or any other material which may be received at therearmost part of the train. Material is transferred from the first end236 to the second end 237 of the rear conveyor belt system 235. Thesecond end 237 may be elevated to more readily transfer material to thefirst end 221 of the payload conveyor belt system 220. In someembodiments, materials may be deposited directly onto the payloadconveyor belt system 220, such that the entire length of the middlesection 205 and payload conveyor belt system 220 are designed towithstand the impact associated with dropping the payload from a heightabove the top of the rail cars 210.

The payload conveyor belt system 220 acts as the hopper for the materialduring transport and a separate hopper to store payload for transportmay not exist. The payload conveyor belt system 220 includes a conveyorbelt that forms a receptacle for the material. The receptacle may be atrough shape with the conveyor belt forming the sides of the trough.Various trough shapes are possible as may be appreciated by one ofordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. Thereceptacle may also be formed by more than one conveyor belt. Forexample, a pair of overlapping conveyor belts may be used or threedifferent conveyor belts may be assembled together.

As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure, the use of a single conveyor belt may limitthe capacity of the payload conveyor belt system 220. For example, itmay be difficult and/or expensive to transition a 16-foot wide belt fromits carry position to its return position within the width constraintswithin an AAR Plate C or Plate F. However, a narrower single belt may bemore easily transitioned within these width constraints. Also, aplurality of belts may be more easily transitioned within the widthconstraints and combined to achieve an overall desired width of thepayload conveyor belt system 220. The costs of narrower belts may alsobe reduced from a single belt. It is further appreciated that thecapacity of a payload conveyor belt system 220 with a smaller total beltwidth will be reduced and a longer train could be used to achieve thesame capacity.

The payload conveyor belt system 220 may include a plurality of conveyorbelts that are combined to achieve the desired total belt width. Towardthe loading section 230 of the train 200, the plurality of conveyorbelts are positioned relative to each other to form a trough shape toreceive and carry the payload within the middle section 205 of the train200. The plurality of conveyor belts maintain the trough shapethroughout the middle section 205 of the train 200. Beneath the payloadconveyor belt system 220, a series of high impact resistant drivepulleys and idler pulleys may be positioned to decrease the impactstresses of loading the payload onto the payload conveyor belt system220 and to achieve a desired capacity per unit length of the rail cars210. Rotation of the payload conveyor belt system 220 moves materialfrom the first end 221 to the second end 222. Toward the unloadingsection 250, the plurality of conveyor belts are separated so thematerial can be removed from the conveyor belts. The plurality ofconveyor belts may be positioned such that the conveyor belts will notspill material during transport, loading, or unloading. The conveyorbelt system 220 may not elevate the material from the first end 221 tothe second end 222. From the payload conveyor belt system 220, thematerial is transferred to the elevating conveyor belt system 245 whichelevates the material to a loading zone of a stacker conveyor beltsystem 255 on a radial stacker arm for unloading the material to itsdesired location.

During operation, the train 200 might have multiple loaded rail cars210, containing many hundreds or thousands of tons of material. Thetrain 200 may be configured to advance all of the material towards theunloading section 250 of the train 200 at the same time. As a result,the need to shuffle rail cars to and from the unloading site is reducedor even eliminated. Therefore, the track may be put back into servicemuch faster and more efficiently.

In some embodiments, the payload conveyor belt system 220 may be dividedinto multiple payload conveyor belt systems 220 sequentially extendingalong the length of the train. Each payload conveyor belt system may besupported by one or multiple rail cars 210. In operation, a firstsection of the payload conveyor belt system 220, which is nearest theunloading section 250 of the train 200, may be operated first. The powerneeded to convey the material may be reduced because the remainingportion of the payload may remain stationary as first section is beingunloaded. Then, a second section of the payload conveyor belt system220, which is adjacent to the first section, may be operated. Materialfrom the second section is moved to the first section, which is thenused as a relay conveyor to move the material to the unloading section250 of the train. Next, a third section adjacent to the second sectionmay be operated and the first and second sections may be used as a relayconveyor. In this manner, one section may be advanced at a time insteadof the entire payload being advanced at the same time.

Aggregate materials may be loaded into the payload conveyor belt system220 and transported to a location where the materials are unloaded. Theaggregate materials may include rip rap. The rip rap may have a diameterof one foot or larger. The aggregate materials may be loaded into thepayload conveyor belt system 220 by depositing materials onto a firstsection of the payload conveyor belt system 220, rotating the payloadconveyor belt system 220 to move the material toward the unloadingsection 250, and then depositing additional material into the firstsection of the payload conveyor belt system 220. In some embodiments,the train 200 can be loaded with different types of aggregates as well,such as rip rap of varying sizes and ballast material. The train 200 maythen be used to offload the different types of aggregates sequentially.For example, when fixing a washout, rip rap can be unloaded into thewashout to take up the greater part and then finished off with unloadinga ballast material that is loaded directly behind the rip rap. Thestacker conveyor belt system 255 on the radial stacker arm may berepositioned and the process can be repeated until a washout is filled.

In some embodiments, track spoils may be loaded into the train 200. Thetrack spoils may be loaded into a receiving hopper (not shown) of theloading section 230 and loaded into the payload conveyor belt system 220via the conveyor belt 235 of the loading section 230. Alternatively, thetrack spoils may be deposited directly onto the payload conveyor beltsystem 220. Once the track spoils reach capacity within the region ofthe payload conveyor belt system 220 receiving the track spoils, thepayload conveyor belt system 220 may rotate to advance the track spoilsto another section. Additional track spoils may be received and advanceduntil a job is complete or the payload conveyor belt system 220 hasreached capacity. Loading track spoils onto the payload conveyor beltsystem 220 at a rear section of the train 200 may be beneficial to theproduction of track maintenance and reduced or eliminate the need toshuffle rail cars to and from the site.

In some embodiments, the train 200 is configured to operate on a curvedsection of track in addition to a straight section of track. Thematerial upon the payload conveyor belt system 220 may keep tension uponthe belts as the train 200 is operated on a curve. The train 200 mayinclude a take-up system 300 configured to apply and maintain tension onthe conveyor belts. FIGS. 7-9 show an embodiment of a take-up system300. FIG. 7 shows the take-up system 300 in a central position. FIG. 8shows the take-up system 300 in a first take-up position. FIG. 9 showsthe take-up system 300 in a second take-up position. The take-up system300 includes a cable 305, a frame 310, pulleys 320, 321, a first track330, a second track 331, a first trolley 340, and a second trolley 341.The first track 330 and second track 331 are disposed upon the frame310. The first trolley 340 is disposed on the first track 330 and thesecond trolley 341 is disposed on the second track 331. Both the firsttrolley 340 and the second trolley 341 are connected to the cable 305,which travels through the pulleys 320, 321. A turnbuckle 315 may be usedto adjust the relative tension of the cable 305 within the take-upsystem 300. Alternatively a hydraulic cylinder, winch, or othermechanized device may apply tension to the cable 305. The take-up system300 may be positioned near the loading section of a train.Alternatively, the take-up system 300 may be in other sections of thetrain.

The first trolley 340 includes a first tail pulley 350 connected to afirst sidewall conveyor belt and the second trolley 341 includes asecond tail pulley 351 connected to a second sidewall conveyor belt. Thetake-up system 300 may include a third track 332 and a third trolley342. For example, the conveyor belt system may include three conveyorbelts and three trolleys. The third trolley 342 is disposed on the thirdtrack 332 and is connected to the cable 305 which travels through thepulleys 321 connected to the third trolley 342. The third trolley 342includes a third tail pulley 352 connected to a floor conveyor belt. Astension is applied to the trolleys 340, 341, 342 via the cable 305,tension is applied to the respective conveyor belts via each tail pulley350, 351, 352. The tension applied to the third trolley 342 may beindependent of the tension applied to the first trolley 340 and thesecond trolley 341. In some embodiments, the tension within the firsttrolley 340 and the second trolley 341 may be proportional to thetension applied through the third trolley 342. For example, as shown inFIGS. 7-9, the first trolley 340 and the second trolley 341 may eachform a 2:1 pulley system with the cable 305 attached to the frame 310 atone end. The third trolley 342 may include two pulleys 321 that form a4:1 pulley system with the cable 305. Since the cable 305 is fixed ateach end, the tension applied to the third trolley 342 will beapproximately double the tension applied to the first trolley 340 andthe second trolley 341. Greater tension may be needed for a floorconveyor belt that supports a greater load than the side conveyor belts.In some embodiments, the cable 305 may be a plurality of cables withvarious connections points to determine the proportional ratio oftension applied to each trolley 340, 341, 342 as would be appreciated byone of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

Additional idler pulleys 360 may support the conveyor belt system aswould be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art having thebenefit of this disclosure. When the train is traveling on a straightsection of track and the first sidewall section and the second sidewallsection are under a similar load, the take-up system 300 may be in acentral position, as shown in FIG. 7. However, when the train traversesa curved section of track, the relative tension between the sidewallsmay change. For example, as the train traverses the curved section oftrack, the portion of the sidewall on the outside of the curve iselongated and placed under tension while the portion of the sidewall onthe inside of the curve is compressed.

Referring to FIG. 8, as the outside sidewall it placed in tension, thesecond trolley 341 is moved along the track 331 towards the front of thetrain. As a result of the forward movement of the second trolley 341,the cable 305 is moved through the pulleys 320, 321 and pulls the firsttrolley 340 connected to the inside sidewall towards the rear of thetrain. As a result, the tension from the outside sidewall is transferredinto the inside sidewall to maintain tension on the inside sidewall.Referring to FIG. 9, when the train travels through an opposite curve,the first trolley 340 moves forward and the cable 305 is used totransfer tension into the second trolley 341 of the other sidewall andmaintain tension on the inside sidewall. In some cases, however, thematerial disposed upon the conveyor belt system may hold the conveyorbelts in place as the train traverses a curve.

A variety of modifications and combinations of these embodiments will beunderstood by those skilled in the art having the benefit of thisdisclosure. For example, in some embodiments the entire sidewall sectionmoves with the material loaded into the rail car. In other embodiments,each sidewall section may be formed of multiple conveyor belts spacedalong the height of the sidewall section and only the conveyor beltsthat are contacting the material may move with the material. In someembodiments, substantially all of the sidewall is formed of a conveyorbelt that moves with the material. In some embodiments, portions of thesidewall are stationary, but a reduction in friction is realized overknown systems where the entire sidewall is stationary. For example, thesidewalls may alternate between stationary portions and moving portions.Also for example, the moveable sidewalls may extend along the length ofa rail car but an end portion of the rail car may still include astationary sidewall. The force needed to convey the material is stillreduced because of the moveable sidewalls, but the stationary sidewallportion may assist with transferring material between rail cars.Likewise, stationary sidewalls at the end portion may reduce stressesplaced on the belts in a curve. The moving floor may continue to conveythe material toward an offloading end as the material sides along astationary portion of the sidewall. The moveable sidewalls may assistwith placing the material into motion so that when the material contactsa stationary portion of sidewall there is sliding friction, but thesliding friction is less than that static friction that would need to beinitially overcome in a system with only stationary sidewalls.

Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certainpreferred embodiments, other embodiments that are apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art, including embodiments that do not provide allof the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within thescope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the presentdisclosure is defined only by reference to the appended claims andequivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system to transport and unload bulk materials,the system comprising: at least one rail car; and a moving wall systemhaving a first end, a second end, and a trough, the trough beingconfigured to contain a payload of the at least one rail car, the troughincluding sidewalls that contact the payload when loaded and areconfigured to move with the payload to move the payload towards thesecond end.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one rail caris a plurality of rail cars and the trough spans the plurality of railcars.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the trough includes a movingfloor.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein each of the at least one railcar includes a frame and the moving wall system includes a plurality ofpulleys connected to the frame, the trough being supported upon theplurality of pulleys.
 5. The system of claim 4, further comprising adrive mechanism configured to impart friction to an underside of thetrough to move the trough.
 6. The system of claim 3, wherein the troughcomprises at least one conveyor belt.
 7. The system of claim 6, whereinthe at least one conveyor belt is positionable between a carryconfiguration and a return configuration, the carry configurationforming the trough.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the sidewallsinclude a pair of sidewall conveyor belts and the moving floor is afloor conveyor belt, the at least one conveyor belt including the pairof sidewall conveyor belts and the floor conveyor belt, the pair ofsidewall conveyor belts and the floor conveyor belt being rotatable tomove the payload.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein the sidewallsinclude a pair of sidewall conveyor belts, the at least one conveyorbelt including the pair of sidewall conveyor belts, the system furthercomprising a take-up system configured to transfer tension from thesidewall conveyor belt on the outside of a curve to the sidewallconveyor belt on the inside of the curve when the system is positionedin the curve.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one railcar does not include a hopper separate from the trough.
 11. A system totransport and unload bulk materials, the system comprising: a conveyorbelt system having at least one conveyor belt, a first end, and a secondend, the conveyor belt system being configured to contain a payload andmove the payload toward the second end by rotating the at least oneconveyor belt, the at least one conveyor belt forming sidewalls and afloor that move with the payload when rotated; and at least one rail carconfigured to support the conveyor belt system, the conveyer belt systemforming a hopper of the at least one rail car.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the at least one conveyor belt is positionable between acarry configuration and a return configuration, the carry configurationforming a trough.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least onerail car is a plurality of rail cars and the conveyor belt system spansthe plurality of rail cars.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein thesidewalls include a pair of sidewall conveyor belts and the floorincludes a floor conveyor belt, the at least one conveyor belt being aplurality of conveyor belts including the pair of sidewall conveyorbelts and the floor conveyor belt.
 15. The system of claim 12, whereinthe sidewalls include a pair of sidewall conveyor belts, the at leastone conveyor belt including the pair of sidewall conveyor belts, thesystem further comprising a take-up system configured to transfertension from the sidewall conveyor belt on the outside of a curve to thesidewall conveyor belt on the inside of the curve when the system ispositioned in the curve.
 16. The system of claim 12, wherein thesidewalls include a first sidewall and a second sidewall, and each ofthe at least one rail car includes a frame having a first track with afirst set of rollers and a second track with a second set of rollers,the first set of rollers being connected to an upper portion of thefirst sidewall and the second set of rollers being connected to an upperportion of the second sidewall.
 17. The system of claim 12, wherein eachof the at least one rail car includes a frame and the moving wall systemincludes a plurality of pulleys connected to the frame, the at least oneconveyor belt being supported upon the plurality of pulleys.
 18. Thesystem of claim 17, further comprising a drive mechanism configured toimpart friction to an underside of the at least one conveyor belt torotate the at least one conveyor belt.
 19. A method of loading orunloading material from a train, the method comprising: depositingmaterial onto a conveyor belt system spanning at least one rail car of atrain, the conveyor belt system having at least one conveyor belt, afirst end, and a second end, the at least one conveyor belt formingsidewalls and a floor; and rotating the at least one conveyor belt tomove the material toward the second end.
 20. The method of claim 19,further comprising: positioning the at least one conveyor belt in acarry configuration forming a trough shape at the first end of theconveyor belt system, the material being deposited into the troughshape; and positioning the at least one conveyor belt in a returnconfiguration at the second end of the conveyor belt system.
 21. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: containing the material withinthe at least one conveyor belt while the train is in transport; andunloading the material after moving the material toward the second end.22. The method of claim 21, wherein the material includes at least riprap.
 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising: depositing thematerial onto the at least one conveyor belt at a first section of theconveyor belt system; rotating the at least one conveyor belt to move atleast a portion of the material to a second section of the conveyor beltsystem; and depositing an additional material into the first section ofthe train.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the additional materialis track spoils.
 25. The method of claim 19, wherein the at least onerail car is a plurality of rail cars and the conveyor belt system spansthe plurality of rail cars.
 26. The method of claim 19, wherein each ofthe at least one rail car includes a frame and the conveyor belt systemincludes a plurality of pulleys connected to the frame, the at least oneconveyor belt being supported upon the plurality of pulleys.
 27. Themethod of claim 26, further comprising imparting friction to anunderside of the at least one conveyor belt and rotating the at leastone conveyor belt via the friction.
 28. The method of claim 19, whereinthe at least one conveyor belt is a plurality of conveyor belts.
 29. Themethod of claim 28, wherein the sidewalls include a pair of sidewallconveyor belts and the floor is a floor conveyor belt, the plurality ofconveyor belts including the pair of sidewall conveyor belts and thefloor conveyor belt.
 30. The system of claim 19, wherein the sidewallsinclude a pair of sidewall conveyor belts, the at least one conveyorbelt including the pair of sidewall conveyor belts, the system furthercomprising a take-up system configured to transfer tension from thesidewall conveyor belt on the outside of a curve to the sidewallconveyor belt on the inside of the curve when the system is positionedin the curve.